It will if nothing else be an interesting test, both of the drawing power of the President and of network TV. Will Lie to Me get an uptick in viewers as a result, or in an era with so many cable options, does one more channel airing something other than a press conference make little difference? As for Obama, it spells out the importance of making sure his TV appearances are spread-out and compelling enough to have impact: if he maintains his ratings, the numbers will speak loudly, and if they drop precipitously, the other networks may want to join Fox next time.

Then again, these are the same programming geniuses who cancelled “Arrested Development.”